Chapter 102 Garus's Fear
Night fell over the territory of the Bonechewer clan, and the adult stone giant Talgun strode in with heavy steps.
With each step, the ground trembled slightly.
It stands about ten meters tall, with a thick and heavy body made of grayish-white granite. Some of its joints are inlaid with ancient-looking copper rings that make a low metallic friction sound as it moves.
A powerful ogre stands before an adult giant.
Like a child who hasn't grown up yet.
Even the Gluttonous Demon Karu was much smaller in size.
Gluttons are a high-level variant of ogres, capable of reaching Legendary status with sufficient food. However, giants are powerful creatures on par with dragons, possessing a high probability of reaching Legendary status with age, and are no less formidable than Gluttons.
Talgun looked down at the ogre camp in front of him.
Dried animal bones hung on the crooked walls, and several warlocks were visible in the territory. Groups of ogre warriors, plump and well-equipped, including many elites over four meters tall, were sitting around a campfire, tearing at the raw flesh of some large wild beast, the grease dripping into the fire and sizzling.
"You are the leader?"
Targun's voice was like two rocks rubbing against each other, making a buzzing sound.
It stared at the Gluttonous Demon in front of it, which was taller, more peculiar, and different from the other ogres, its eyes showing a strange light.
At first glance, the stone giant recognized Gluttony.
It couldn't help but feel delighted.
An ogre clan possessing a gluttonous demon has potential that ordinary ogre clans cannot match. Bringing them under our command will rapidly expand the size of their Stoneheart clan's retinue, making it easy for them to establish a foothold here.
Once we have a firm foothold, we will gather our strength and return to our homeland.
This is the wish of the stone giant.
As for the possibility of failure.
The stone giant Targon hadn't considered this.
Under normal circumstances, if a dragon and a giant are placed in front of an ogre at the same time, and the ogre is asked to choose one to pledge allegiance to, the ogre will most likely choose the giant rather than the dragon.
The reason is simple.
Ogres possess an extraordinary physique and actually possess the bloodline of giants, having a certain historical connection with the giant race. Moreover, the Ogre God is a minor deity belonging to the giant pantheon, just as the Kobold God belongs to the Dragon God pantheon.
However.
What the stone giant Targon didn't know was that it was too late.
Gluttony has been subdued by the more powerful dragons.
Ordinary ogres might revere giants, but gluttons have potential no less than giants. Gluttons that have never been utterly defeated by stone giants have no sense of awe towards them.
Karu wiped the bits of meat from the corner of his mouth and slowly stood up.
It stands about six meters tall and has a more compact and robust body.
Despite being several sizes smaller than the stone giant, with its head not even reaching the stone giant's chest, the Gluttonous Demon Karu was not afraid. He strode closer, looked up at the stone giant, and said, "I am Karu, the king of the Bone Chewing Clan."
As they were talking.
It seemed that it felt it was not tall enough and that looking up at the stone giant was not a comfortable position.
Karu beckoned two elite ogre warriors over and had them lift Karu's head by one of its left and one right legs, eventually raising it to a height that was slightly higher than the stone giant's.
The Gluttony Demon nodded in satisfaction.
It licked the bits of meat from between its teeth with its tongue and said gruffly to the stone giant, "Big guy, what are you doing in my territory?"
Cracks resembling a smile appeared on the rocky face of Targun.
"I come from the cliffs and straits of the west."
It raised its arm and pointed west: "The land there is ten times more spacious than here, and the prey is incredibly fat."
The young ogre warriors' ears perked up immediately upon hearing the word "prey."
Targon noticed this detail and continued, “My people are building a powerful army. Brave warriors like you should stand on the side of the victors. Then, there will be countless prey for you to eat until your bellies are full.”
Stone giants are undoubtedly intelligent beings.
It knows how to entice cannibals based on their nature.
Karu blinked, took the raw liver handed to him by the warlock using a levitation spell, and took a rough bite: "Sounds good, but the Bone Chewing Clan is doing quite well now."
It licked its blood-stained fangs: "Why should I listen to you, just because of your empty promises?"
"At the very least, you need to offer me food, equipment, or other resources before I'll even consider pledging allegiance."
Karu may seem rough and crude, but he is more thoughtful than other ogres.
Overall, he has a rough exterior but a meticulous interior.
This can be seen from the very beginning when it encountered Garus and tried to trick Garus into landing.
Talgun's rocky eyebrows (actually two protruding stone ridges) furrowed. It had thought that these simple-minded ogres would immediately submit to it, but it hadn't expected that this gluttonous monster was more cunning than it had anticipated.
Stone giants feed on minerals.
The creatures obtained from hunting can be given to the ogre clan.
However, they themselves didn't have much equipment or other resources, so it was impossible for them to provide them to the ogre clan.
The purpose of gathering followers is to have them support oneself; there's no reason for one to deplete one's own resources to support followers.
They did not wait for the stone giant's reply.
Remembering Garos's instructions, Karu concealed his true purpose beneath his honest face, took a bite of raw liver, and then asked with feigned curiosity and casualness, "Hmm, the western straits should be quite far from here. Why did you abandon your rich territory to come here? This puzzles me."
The stone giant remained silent for two seconds.
Tell the truth?
Tell the Gluttons in front of you that their clan was defeated by the Blue Dragon. In order to avoid annihilation, they had no choice but to abandon their territory and flee in a sorry state. After six years of wandering and experiencing some twists and turns, they finally came here and wanted to settle down.
The stone giant remained calm and said, "For the purpose of expanding our territory."
It continued in a deep voice: "We are not satisfied with just the western territory, so we sent some of our people here to occupy it and turn it into a stronghold. From there, we will gradually expand our clan's territory."
Its facial features are hard and made of stone, with little change in expression, appearing somewhat stiff and numb.
This made it impossible for Galos, who was observing from the shadows, to determine whether these words were true or false.
"A clan of stone giants who want to expand their territory."
"Judging from its words, it has other members of its tribe traveling with it, and it is not a lone traveler."
"There may be even more giants coming later."
Garus habitually considers the negative consequences first, so he assumes for the moment that the stone giant's words are true.
Why is it that someone always comes to disrupt my peaceful life?
The thought of the possible appearance of a large army of giants filled Galos with fear, fearing that he would be discovered and killed.
This set off alarm bells in his mind, making him feel a strong sense of danger and threat, even stronger than the danger he had felt from the Blackrock Dwarfs.
Dragons and giants are absolute enemies, with a blood feud dating back to ancient times, rooted in their bloodlines.
Encounters in the wild rarely end well.
The moment Galos saw the stone giant, he felt a deep-seated disgust and hatred, and wanted to rush out and kill it.
He suppressed his natural instincts with his amazing willpower.
Galus dislikes being controlled by instinctual desires, such as his innate hatred of giants, as these bring him unnecessary trouble and conflict.
If possible, Garus would actually prefer to live in harmony with the Titans.
but.
The other party is unlikely to have the same idea.
(End of this chapter)
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